Whisky Discovery #241

Penderyn 'Portwood' NAS (41% abv, OB Bottled 2012, 70cl)

Welsh Single Malt Whisky

circa £35.00 70cl

Penderyn Portwood 41

Until recently Portwood 41 was only available in mainland Europe and direct from the distillery, but due to popular request is now on general release and seems to be available at all the usual on-line retailers as well as a good number of Welsh suppliers.

The spirit for this is matured in ex-bourbon casks for 4-7 years and are then filled into Port casks for 8 months. This gives the whisky a distinct rosy hue of tarnished copper.

Official tasting notes

Aromas of rich dried fruits with fresh blackberries and dark chocolate accompany the blush tint of Penderyn Portwood. After these first impressions fresh honey drizzled over mixed tropical fruits emerges and carries on into the taste. This is a powerful whisky, bone dry, yet convincing the taste buds of immense sweetness. The overall effect is one of a fresh, clean and fruity whisky easy to drink and with an attractive lingering finish.

So What Did We Think?

Kat Said: I sampled this alongside another recently released Penderyn; Red Flag. For the Portwood I was able to pick up a dry & wet character all at the same time with a light woody aroma. This reminded me of the smell of a pile of dried autumnal leaves where the top surface is dry but the bottom layers of leaves are still damp. Apart from this, the rich fruity characters of the Port are the only other aromas that I can pick out.

I found the Portwood to be not quite as sweet as the Red Flag and there is a bitter dark chocolate note, like a high 70% cocoa content. There is a kick that’s more like that of a fiery chilli instead of the heat you get from black pepper. as with the Red Flag, the rich Port flavours are bold in this whisky and nicely balanced.

The finish starts and ends with a chilli cocoa mix that fades to the end giving a long finish. I'm already partial to Madeira and Port, so was happy that both of these whiskies delivered the flavours of the finishes very well.

Dave Said: Initially I found the nose to be quite woody; fresh green lumber, but after some time in the glass the fresh blackberries start to come through complete with their brambles. Slowly the fruity notes evolve with more sweet hedgerow berries and some glacé cherries. I'm not sure if it's the pinkish hue, but I was also finding rose petals. There is a good touch of pepper on the nose too

The palate is sweet, although as Kat points out, not quite a sweet as the Red Flag, and with a little vanilla pod, a touch of citrus zest and a good pinch of pepper that bites. The sweet berries return on the palate too. my second glass seems sweeter than the first tasting and notes of  milk chocolate evolve before wine notes and dried fruit. The sweetness starts to fade as the peppery spice builds at the end.

A good length finish with the spice notes balanced by a light honied sweetness along with some slightly drying oak.

Many thanks to Penderyn for supplying the tasting sample. For more information about the award winning Welsh distillery visit www.welsh-whisky.co.uk

Whisky Discovery #240

Penderyn 'Red Flag' NAS (41% abv, OB, Bottled 2012, 70cl)
Welsh Single Malt Whisky
circa £39.00 70cl

Red Flag; the first of the 'Icons of Wales' series

Welsh distillery Penderyn recently announced the launch of a series of limited edition bottlings; the “Icons of Wales” range, celebrating Wales’ impact throughout the world. A total of fifty limited edition single malt whiskies are planned, each of which will celebrate a person, milestone or event from Wales which resonated internationally.

Red Flag, the first edition was launched on the 24th September and commemorates the first time that a red flag was raised as a symbol of social protest: during the 1831 Merthyr Rising which ended in the execution of miner Dic Penderyn.

The 1831 Merthyr Rising is believed to have been the first time that a red flag was raised as a symbol of social protest, and the Red Flag special edition carries a passage telling the story of Dic Penderyn, whose real name was Richard Lewis. The bottle features a specially commissioned print by the artist Andrew Davidson.

Future editions will draw upon other events from Wales’ history.  Each bottling will be strictly limited in number, and the expressions are expected to become collectors’ items, as other Penderyn special edition whiskies have become.

Dr Jim Swan's Tasting Notes

This whisky is finished in Madeira casks to impart a delicate flavour of subtle complexity. Hand crafted to perfection, the unique distillation process at Penderyn produces a single malt whisky that is smooth, light in character and softly golden in colour.

So What Did We Think?

Kat Says: I sampled two new expressions from Penderyn, side by side. Starting first with Red Flag then followed by Portwood. Both of these finishes gave these whiskies their full bodied characters.

The Red Flag being a Madeira finish, it’s not hard to pick up the Madeira notes in this whisky which can be detected as raisins. I can also pick out rhubarb crumble, cotton candy, and a hint of spice from fresh bay leaves.

On the initial sip, there is a medicinal herb quality which disappeared when I tasted it again after leaving the whisky in the glass for a short while. It’s sweet and smooth, like the nose, the characteristic Madeira flavours shines through creating a nice balance of Madeira and whisky.

The character of this whisky wasn't really affected by adding a drop of water, it only took away a bit of the spicy alcohol sting leaving a long finish, with the spice of the bay leaves returning, staying through to the end.

Dave Says: It's quite sweet on the nose, and although I don't think I've tried Madeira yet (Kat loves it apparently) I can certainly find raisins and the rhubarb crumble that Kat picked out. It also had quite a lot of green wood and a touch of the 'pear drops' that is normally associated with a younger spirit, and a herbal note that I think is a little like dried tea.

The sweetness continues on the palate, like a sweet sherry initially and then finishes a little like saccharin. There is a some fruity vanilla notes before a peppery spice kicks in. Overall the mouth-feel is quite full, rich and smooth. The spicy pepper returns right at the very end leaving the tongue glowing for a short while, then fading back to sweetness and leaving an almond like taste. The empty glass however smells quite fresh and grassy.

I'm not certain how limited this is as there is no mention of the number of bottles released, nor have I been able to find out what the difference between the Red Flag and the standard Madeira Finish that's parts of Penderyn's core range, however checking back through my tasting notes I have found them to be a little different.

This limited edition bottling will be available at Penderyn’s distillery, at www.penderynstore.com and at selected stores throughout Wales. A small number of prints used on the bottle’s label will also be available at the distillery.

Many thanks to Penderyn for supplying the tasting sample. For more information about the award winning Welsh distillery visit www.welsh-whisky.co.uk

Whisky Discovery #65

Penderyn Peated NAS (46% abv OB Bottled Jan 2012)
Welsh Single Malt Whisky
Circa £38.00 70cl

Peated Penderyn

The final and my 21st dram of the Whisky Live London Show that I only just managed to get in my glass as 'last pour' of the day had been called.

A peated Welsh whisky? Penderyn have done everything a little different to Scotch whisky, and their peated release is follows this trait. However, releasing a peated variant of their whisky wasn't planned for and came purely by accident.

The peat comes solely from the cask the whisky matured in. The casks ordered were originally specified not to have held any peated whisky in it beforehand, but unfortunately a couple of casks slipped into their delivery and hence an occasional peated version was accidently matured. However it went down well and now is part of their core range, albeit in a lower volume with around 5,000 bottles released annually.

At premium strength (46% vol) the sweet aromatic smoke of Penderyn Peated single malt whisky is immediately obvious but soon vanilla, green apples and refreshing citrus notes mingle to give an array of gentle flavours that challenge even the most sophisticated palate. A medium finish with residues of smoke and vanilla that leaves the palate thirsting for more.

Official Tasting Notes

Palate: At premium strength (46% vol) the sweet aromatic smoke is immediately obvious but soon vanilla, green apples and refreshing citrus notes mingle to give an array of gentle flavours that challenge even the most sophisticated palate.

Finish: A medium finish with residues of smoke and vanilla

So what did I think?

I was very fortunate to obtain the remnants of one of the pouring bottles at the end of the show, it too fell off the table and into my bag while Penderyn were clearing the tables (Thanks again Penderyn!) So had some time to really get to know this at home

Nose: It's no Islay but there is a light smoky whiff, grassy, citrus, apples and vanilla and that jelly bean kind of sweetness that I'm starting to notice from younger whiskies

Palate: Sweet and light. Green fruits, apples, kiwifruit, and citrus fruits. There is a light vanilla touch there too, and the peated influence is more noticeable than on the nose.

Finish: Short, fades quite quickly. Gentle peppery spiciness with a vanilla edge

Bottled at a respectable 46% abv, naturally coloured and non chill-filtered, it is quite different to the other peated whiskies I have tried so far. It comes across as a young whisky, and while quite enjoyable to drink, it was my least favourite of the three Penderyns tasted. That maybe because I may have been expecting it to pack more of a peaty punch in an Islay manner.

Whisky Discovery #64

Penderyn Sherrywood NAS (46% abv OB Bottled 2012)
Welsh Single Malt Whisky
Circa £36.00 70cl

Penderyn Sherrywood

As the end of the show was imminent we stayed with Penderyn to the end and so atter finishing their Madeira we moved on to the Sherrywood, and Dram No.20 of the afternoon was poured.

Whilst most Scottish and Irish distilleries would use a conventional two or three pot still system, the technology developed at Penderyn allows an extremely clean "flavourful" spirit to be produced from a single still.

Each morning the unique copper pot still is charged with the malted barley wash. As the steam heats the liquid it starts to bubble and the vapour rises into a copper column above the still. The column has a number of perforated plates and the vapour will condense on the first plate before being returned to the still.

As the process continues the vapour will reach the second plate and so on, before evaporating and falling back to the still, each step leaving the spirit smoother, softer and more refined. Eventually the spirit is drawn from the seventh plate on the second column and piped to their spirit safe where it lands, literally drop by drop, over the course of the day.

As mentioned previously just one barrel of whisky is produced a day, but in order to fill that barrel the new spirit (at 92% abv it has the highest strength of any malt whisky) is combined with water from the Penderyn Distillery’s natural spring, located underneath the distillery, reducing it to 63.4% abv - their cask strength.

This spirit is then filled into casks for maturation. Penderyn use Buffalo Trace bourbon casks for the first part of the maturation and then finished in Oloroso Sherry casks.

At premium strength (46% vol) Penderyn Sherrywood single malt whisky yields rich dark fruits and caramels from dry Oloroso sherry casks which intermingle with green apples, hazelnuts and hints of sugared almonds. The nose is quickly reminded of Penderyn whiskies' classic freshness. The taste begins with remarkable sweetness that gives way for a moment to a refreshing dryness in the mid palate. Caramels and sultanas persist into a long finish.

So What do I think?

Unfortunately I never managed to fit one of these bottles in my bag, but did write some notes down:

Colour: Burnished gold

Nose: Softness and lightness at first, then opening up with fruits and sweetness, finally revealing a rich sponge cake, honey, and citrus, got that 'jelly bean' aroma too.

Palate: Oloroso sherry oak influence is prominent but not overpowering. Rich fruits and cherried Christmas cake nutty bitternes and even a little chocolate

Finish: Nice finish, sweet with almonds

I really enjoyed this, rich and sweet but still lively and smooth, wish I managed to squeeze one of these into my bag too, out of the three Penderyn's tasted I think this one was my favourite.

Whisky Discovery #63

Penderyn Madeira Finish NAS (46% abv OB Bottled 2012)
Welsh Single Malt Whisky
Circa £30.00 70cl

Penderyn Madeira Finish

For my 18th dram of the afternoon we moved quickly across to the Penderyn stand to find out more about Welsh whisky. The afternoon was coming to a close and this would be the last stand we visited during the show.

Penderyn would be the second closest distillery to me, and so due for a visit in the very near future. I'm hoping to get over to them sometime in May. I have heard some good things about the Welsh whisky, and had recent read @themisswhisky's blog post after she visited the distillery. In addition another Twitter friend @I_Fusgus had also recently visited, and was surprised by a number of differences from the usual distillery tours he had done.

The first major difference being that they do not have a mash tun nor do they have any washbacks. Most distilleries buy their malted barley nowadays and there are very few floor maltings these days. So the first stage of making whisky is to produce a high-quality malted barley wash which, in the case of Penderyn is supplied by expert Welsh brewers S. A. Brain & Co. in Cardiff. S. A. Brain was founded in 1882 and has a long tradition of brewing as Wales's premier private brewery business. Penderyn receive their malted barley wash to a strict specification at 8% alcohol by volume. It is produced using only the finest barley grain which imparts a light and fruity flavour to the wash.

The second major difference being they distil their our barley wash in a unique copper still. The whisky still at Penderyn is unlike any other: a single copper pot still producing a flavourful spirit of extraordinary strength and purity. This still was invented exclusively for them by Dr David Faraday, descendent of the ground-breaking Victorian scientist, Sir Michael Faraday.

At 92% alcohol by volume our new spirit has the highest strength of any malt whisky (or wysgi) and with just one barrel produced every day, it is also exceptionally rare.

The technical innovation of this still produces not only a barley spirit of great complexity, depth and finesse, but also removes almost all of the undesirable chemical compounds which a conventional two or three pot system cannot.

This single malt Welsh whisky defines their ‘house style of whiskies’ being distilled in their unique copper pot still, matured in bourbon barrels, finished in rich Madeira wine casks and bottled at premium strength. This single malt whisky is smooth, light in character and softly golden in colour.

At premium strength (46% vol) Penderyn single malt whisky has an exceptionally balanced taste with an aroma of cream toffee and fleetingly of fresh new leather. Then, as the initial sensations fade, the finishing notes of tropical fruits, raisins and vanilla emerge strongly and are long lasting.

So what did I think?

I was fortunate enough to obtain the remnants of one of the pouring bottles at the end of the show, it fell off the table and into my bag - honest guv. (Thank you Penderyn!)

Colour: Soft golden

Nose: Initially honey and herbal fennal "cut grass" notes and those tangy strawberry sweets my kids used to like, some barley sugar and creamy toffee. Delightfully perfumed

Palate: Smooth and light. The honey sweetness gets joined by spices and pepper. Both the vanilla and the sherry raisins balancing the flavours nicely.

Finish: Same grassy notes from the beginning, and vanilla from the bourbon cask.

I liked it, it was young and fresh. Overall, a drinkable, tasty dram with a subtle attraction.